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20 | OHCC LIVING | MAY 2022 | Ballroom Dance Our next dance of the year will be on Fri., May 13 in Abravanel Hall from 7 to 9:45 pm. We will dance once again to the music of the Alias Band, one of our most popular dance bands. The cost will be $15 for members and $20 for non-members. We will be setting up for tables of eight. Give your check to the front desk by Fri., May 6 and, if desired, indicate your tablemates on the check. Our monthly dances are on the second Friday of the month from 7 to 9:45 pm. (The times will vary for dinner dances.) The dance music is typically provided by a live band. The Ballroom Dance Club offers lessons each week on Wednesdays. Beginner lessons are at 2 pm and Intermediate lessons are at 3 pm. Cost is $7 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Pay at the door (no reservations required, just come). Carrie Kloss, a champion dancer, and professional instructor will provide the dance instruction. She is a Master Examiner for DVIDA Dance Vision. In April we started a series of lessons on Foxtrot for both classes. That series will continue into May. Fox-Trot is one of the most popular ballroom dances. It is often associated with the smooth dancing style of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Fox-Trot is very similar to the waltz. Both are smooth dances characterized by flowing movements that travel around the room in a clockwise fashion. The dance combines slow steps and quick steps to create attractive patterns on the dance floor. It is typically danced to big band swing-style music, but it can be danced to many types of popular music. The Ballroom Dance Club has Practice Parties on Mondays, weekly in Abravanel Hall from 2:30 to 4:30 pm. Experienced OHCC dancers will review Wednesday's lessons and provide help upon request. You can practice your dancing to a variety of ballroom music. The party is FREE, just drop in. These parties are open to all residents of OHCC and guests of members. The annual membership in the Ballroom Dance Club is $10. With this membership you will receive regular emails describing club activities as well as discounts for dances and lessons. To join, just drop your check off at the front desk. Indicate your email address(s) on the check. Yiddish Club Hello everyone! June is right around the corner, and the Yiddish Club is getting ready for its fabulous deli luncheon, and great entertainment, to be held on Sun., June 26 at 12 noon, in Abravanel Hall. Be sure to check your emails for event details in late May and in June. If you have a story you would love to share with our readers, and which you feel would be of interest to our membership as well, please contact me, Elaine Massei, on my cell at (408) 835-7803. Please continue reading this engaging article submitted by our Past Vice-President, Don Kent. During this past April 28, sirens sounded in all of Israel. No! It was not an air-raid but was the beginning of the somber commemoration of "Holocaust Memorial Day." It begins with the sounding of sirens for two minutes throughout the country at 11 am. Everyone stops whatever they are doing and stands at attention. Highway traffic pulls over to the side of the road as the sirens begin; drivers park and exit their cars. This day commemorates the martyrs and heroes who died under Nazi oppression. In Israel, this observance is called Yom Ha Shoa. On a more pleasant note, most members of the Yiddish Club only speak a few words of Yiddish, primarily because they were never exposed to it. However, as a young boy, living with my grandparents, I became rather fluent in Yiddish; but after they passed, my opportunity to speak the language stopped. I'm no longer fluent, but I would love to share some of my remaining knowledge with all of you. Therefore, whenever possible, I'll introduce you to some very basic words in the "Mama Loshen." Mama Loshen – pronounced Ma-meh Law-shen means "mother language" or "mother's tongue," or "Yiddish." "Can I talk mama-loshen?" means, "Will you understand if I speak Yiddish?" The word can be used with a slightly different meaning: To say let's talk mama-loshen means "let's cut out the formal talk (or double talk)." Get to the "heart of it," "lay it on the line." "Mother tongue" has an interesting background. Hebrew was the "Father's language," since the "Holy Books" were in Hebrew and only males were taught to read. Yiddish became known as "the mother's tongue," the language which many women used primarily in the home. ~ Elaine Massei, President and Don Kent, Past Vice-President

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